2
1.1 Introduction
Demand for food was increased due to an exponential rise in population between
1961 and 2000 (Keating et al. 2014). In addition, food shortage is a problem facing
over-populated developing countries. These countries need to double food production to meet the growing demand of food (FAO 2009). Thus, scientific and technological advances, institutional intervention, government policy, business investment
and innovation should joint together to meet the demand for food (Keating and
Carberry 2010). A second green revolution targeting nutrients and water use efficiency is one of the proposed solutions to meet the increase in food demand and
tackle food scarcity in upcoming decades (Blum 2009). Furthermore, Foley et al.
(2011) suggested solutions to food security that taking advantage of the advances in
agriculture and reducing waste, whilst addressing shifting diets, enabled a doubling
in agricultural production and a reduction in environmental impacts. Food wastage
reduction, both food loss and waste, provide an opportunity to capturing more of the
food that is produced for human consumption, which will help in increasing food
security without increasing the environmental burden of production (Cole
et al. 2018).
The concept of food security is based on three main pillars, food availability,
food accessibility and food stability. Agriculture is concerned about food production and availability. Consequently, crops production is restricted by the availability
of water, where water supply in irrigated agriculture is often the most critical factor
limiting crop growth and yield. Maximum or potential crop yield is limited by climate and crop cultivar, assuming all the other factors affecting crop growth and
yield are optimal (Karmakar et al. 2016). Consequently, environment deterioration
arose as result of increased farm inputs and outputs in their attempts to increase
food production. Moreover, farmers often achieve far less than 50% of the climatic
and genetic yield potential for a given sowing date, cultivar choice and site
(Karmakar et al. 2016)
1.2 Food Production Depends on Water Availability
Although 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered with water (Siddique and
Bramley 2014), only about 2.5% is fresh water (Gleick and Palaniappan 2010). The
majority of these amounts of water are trapped in glaciers, permanent snow, or aquifers (Farihi et al. 2013). The fresh water is divided in two types of resources: renewable and non-renewable water resources. Groundwater and surface water, such as
the average flow of rivers on a yearly basis, are considered renewable water
resources, whereas deep aquifers are considered non-renewable water resources
(FAO 2003). Agriculture is the largest fresh water user on the planet, consuming
more than two thirds of total withdrawals (Gan et al. 2013) and fresh water shortage
S. Ouda and A. E.-H. Zohry
1.1 Introduction
Demand for food was increased due to an exponential rise in population between
1961 and 2000 (Keating et al. 2014). In addition, food shortage is a problem facing
over-populated developing countries. These countries need to double food production to meet the growing demand of food (FAO 2009). Thus, scientific and technological advances, institutional intervention, government policy, business investment
and innovation should joint together to meet the demand for food (Keating and
Carberry 2010). A second green revolution targeting nutrients and water use efficiency is one of the proposed solutions to meet the increase in food demand and
tackle food scarcity in upcoming decades (Blum 2009). Furthermore, Foley et al.
(2011) suggested solutions to food security that taking advantage of the advances in
agriculture and reducing waste, whilst addressing shifting diets, enabled a doubling
in agricultural production and a reduction in environmental impacts. Food wastage
reduction, both food loss and waste, provide an opportunity to capturing more of the
food that is produced for human consumption, which will help in increasing food
security without increasing the environmental burden of production (Cole
et al. 2018).
The concept of food security is based on three main pillars, food availability,
food accessibility and food stability. Agriculture is concerned about food production and availability. Consequently, crops production is restricted by the availability
of water, where water supply in irrigated agriculture is often the most critical factor
limiting crop growth and yield. Maximum or potential crop yield is limited by climate and crop cultivar, assuming all the other factors affecting crop growth and
yield are optimal (Karmakar et al. 2016). Consequently, environment deterioration
arose as result of increased farm inputs and outputs in their attempts to increase
food production. Moreover, farmers often achieve far less than 50% of the climatic
and genetic yield potential for a given sowing date, cultivar choice and site
(Karmakar et al. 2016)
1.2 Food Production Depends on Water Availability
Although 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered with water (Siddique and
Bramley 2014), only about 2.5% is fresh water (Gleick and Palaniappan 2010). The
majority of these amounts of water are trapped in glaciers, permanent snow, or aquifers (Farihi et al. 2013). The fresh water is divided in two types of resources: renewable and non-renewable water resources. Groundwater and surface water, such as
the average flow of rivers on a yearly basis, are considered renewable water
resources, whereas deep aquifers are considered non-renewable water resources
(FAO 2003). Agriculture is the largest fresh water user on the planet, consuming
more than two thirds of total withdrawals (Gan et al. 2013) and fresh water shortage
S. Ouda and A. E.-H. Zohry